ICS, postal services launch stamp memorabilia |12 April 2021
By Elsie Pointe
The Seychelles Postal Services (SPS) and Island Conservation Society (ICS) on Saturday, April 10, launched a new commemorative overprint issue featuring six stamps depicting the wildlife of Seychelles.
The memorabilia launch commemorates the 20th anniversary of the ICS, which the non-profit organisation celebrated on Saturday.
ICS promotes the conservation and restoration of island ecosystems, sustainable development of islands, and awareness of conservation issues.
Islands on which the ICS are most active include Aride, Alphonse atoll, Desroches, Silhouette and Farquhar.
A must-have for stamp enthusiasts, the limited edition cover is destined to become a collector’s item with the six stamps featuring wildlife such as the endemic Seychelles Warbler and the green turtle, all overprinted with ‘ICS 2001- 2021’. The stamps in the collection are no longer valid for postage.
The commemorative overprint issue is presently available for sale at the Postal Services’ philatelic gift shop, Liberty House, for R100.
SPS’ chief executive Errol Dias and ICS chairman Adrian Skerrett signed a memorandum of understanding to officialise the cancellation of the stamps official.
“These are not new stamps; they are stamps that have been in use for quite a while and that we have not been using as much anymore. The stamps’ cancellation comes into effect today, April 10, the date when the memorandum of understanding was signed,” explained Marina Souffe, the director for human resource and administration at the SPS.
An overprint is an additional layer of text added to the face of a postage stamp, often to change the monetary value of the stamp, change the use of the stamps or mark a special occasion.
The first commemorative overprint issue in Seychelles was in 1967 and were a set of four stamps overprinted with ‘Universal Adult Suffrage 1967’.
Others followed including ‘Royal Visit 1972’ on the occasion of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and ‘Lazournen Enternasyonal Kreol’ to celebrate the International Creole Day in 1986.
Elsie Pointe